LONDON (AP) – Trucks waiting to enter and leave Britain retreated for miles and people were stranded at airports on Monday as many countries imposed strict travel restrictions on concerns about a new strain of coronavirus that extends to the south-east of England.
Countries around the world have stopped air travel to the UK, while France has banned the entry of lorries for a period of 48 hours while the new variant is being evaluated. On Monday, however, there was growing hope that France would allow traffic to flow again and truck drivers had to do quick coronavirus tests on arrival.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will later chair a meeting of the government’s emergency committee on Monday, amid growing concerns about new restrictions that could lead to food shortages if not reversed soon. The government has already urged travel to Kent, the southeastern county where there are many ports.
Most perishable goods arriving in Britain from France arrive by truck. Goods carrying containers to ships, such as manufactured goods, are not affected by the ban.
While the French ban does not prevent goods from crossing the English Channel to Britain, confusion over the new regulations added to long backups on both sides at a time when traffic related to Christmas was already creating traffic and uncertainty about Britain’s future trade. relationship with the European Union.
Around 10,000 trucks pass through the port of Dover, in Great Britain every day, which account for about 20% of the UK’s trade in goods. British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said France’s ban was “somewhat surprising”, but tried to calm his nerves by pointing out that most British trade was unaffected.
Shapps insisted the public will not notice any shortages “for the most part.”
French Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari indicated that a solution would be reached. In a tweet, he said that “in the next few hours, at European level, we will establish a solid health protocol so that the flow of the UK can resume.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said in a hoarse voice on Monday at a video cabinet meeting: “We are looking at systematic evidence on arrival.” Macron has been working from the Elysee Palace when he recovers from his COVID-19 infection.
Canada, India, Hungary and Switzerland are one of the last countries to stop flights from the UK, following the leadership of many in Europe. In the United States, the governor of New York State said he wanted to ban flights from Britain to New York. France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland and Ireland were among those who on Sunday announced widespread restrictions on flights from the UK’s Eurotunnel, the rail service linking Britain to mainland Europe, has also been suspended. the services.
The moves come as a result of Johnson’s announcement on Saturday that he was placing London and the south-east of England at a new level of level 4 restrictions following a warning from his scientific advisers, using what is considered one of the most sophisticated in the world. genome sequencing regimens: having detected a new variant of coronavirus that may be more contagious.
Johnson said early indications are that the new variant of the virus is 70 percent more transmissible and is driving the rapid spread of new infections to the capital and surrounding areas. Johnson will meet with COBRA’s civil contingency committee later Monday amid warnings of “major disruptions” in the Channel Channel ports.
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said Monday that while preliminary tests in the UK suggest the new variant is “significantly more transmissible”, there is no indication that the infections are more serious. Experts, however, have stressed that even if the new strain is not more lethal, it is inevitable that more cases will lead to more hospitalizations and the consequent deaths related to the virus.
The Stockholm-based agency said Iceland, Denmark and the Netherlands have already reported some cases with the new variant. He also cited case reports in Belgium and Italy.
Roman Woelfel, head of the Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology in Munich, said the variants described by the UK have not been seen in samples from patients examined in Germany. However, he noted that the British consortium for sequencing the virus is particularly good at finding new variants.
Experts from EU member states met in Brussels on Monday to discuss the new variant.
The chaos at the border comes at a time of enormous uncertainty for the UK, less than two weeks before the final phase of Britain’s exit from the EU.
Although the UK left the bloc on 31 January, it is in a period of transition that sees it effectively meet EU standards by the end of this year. Talks on a post-Brexit trade deal are still stalled and will resume on Monday.
Retailers downplayed fears of food shortages in the short term at least, but warned that there could be problems if travel bans last for a while and if the UK and EU do not reach a post-Brexit trade agreement.
The British Retail Consortium warned that closing traffic between France and the UK would create trade “difficulties” during the busy Christmas period.
“Retailers have sourced products before Christmas, which should avoid immediate problems,” said Andrew Opie, director of Food and Sustainability at the British Retail Consortium.
“However, any prolonged closure of the French border would be a problem as the UK enters the last few weeks before the transition ends.”
The Logistics UK trade association has urged people to stay calm and not run to supermarkets to store goods.
“Buyers shouldn’t panic about buying,” said Kevin Green, its director of marketing and communications. “If the merchandise moves again today, then the overall impact on fresh produce arriving in supermarkets should be quite minimal.”
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Associated Press writers Frank Jordans in Berlin, Thomas Adamson in Paris, and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.
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Follow the AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak.